Ali Khan

Schools, colleges, theatres shut in Mumbai due to swine flu

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Mumbai, August 12: Schools, colleges and cinema theatres in the city will remain closed in view of swine flu situation in the state, Maharashtra government said on Wednesday.

While schools and colleges will remain closed for a week, theatres and multiplexes will remain shut for three days, a senior government official said.

The decision has been taken as a precautionary measure in the wake of rising cases of deadly viral infection in the state, which has recorded maximum swine flu deaths so far.

Swine flu prompts low-key Dahi Handi celebrations

Muslim in BURKINI banned from France pool

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Paris, August 12: A swimming pool in France has refused entry to a young Muslim woman wearing a “burkini,” a swimsuit that covers most of the body, officials said Wednesday.

The pool ban came as French lawmakers conduct hearings on whether to ban the burqa after President Nicolas Sarkozy said the head-to-toe veil was “not welcome” in the secular country.

” Pool staff reminded her of the rules that apply in all (public) swimming pools which forbid swimming while clothed ”
Daniel Guillaume

Russian use Rented husbands for support

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Moscow, August 13: Is your man too busy to help you around the house? Well for women in Russia it is no longer a problem as they have a new service that allows them to rent a husband by the hour.

From fixing a shelf to changing a lock, rented husbands are proving to be the next big thing in Russia where the very lucrative business was launched in the northwestern city of St. Petersburg.

“Some women can’t even change a light bulb,” Alexander Yakovlev, who heads one of the renting offices, said. “I currently have 50 men to do this kind of work.”

VC cancels AMU’s MA (History) admission list

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Bhopal, August 12 (Pervez Bari): At high level review meeting taken by the AMU Vice Chancellor, Prof. P. K. Abdul Azis has cancelled the list of admitted students for M.A. History and decided that a fresh list of candidates should be declared by 13th of August and admission be completed on August 20, 2009.

Workshop on Emergency & Trauma Airway Management at AMU concludes

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Bhopal, August 12 (Pervez Bari): More than three dozen doctors got hands on training in mechanical ventilation and surgical airway to treat the emergency patients effectively in a three-day workshop on Emergency and Trauma Airway Management held at J. N. Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.

At the end of the course the certificate distribution ceremony was held. Dr. S. Moied Ahmed, Director of the Course said that a majority of the participants said that they had found the course very informative, practical and useful to every doctor from any specialty.

What is Swine Flu? Detailed Information

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Mumbai, August 12:  Swine Flu is an illness that generally infects pigs (swine). It results in respiratory illness and is very contagious but is rarely disastrous. Typically, humans do not get swine flu. But, in 2009, the virus (H1N1) affecting humans seems to have mutated into a combination of swine, avian (bird) and human influenza. It has developed the ability to transfer from human to human.


How did it start, where did it come from?

The new breed of Muslims

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Since Kamala Suraiya nee Das and Obama bin Laden, there has been interest in what is called the `Muslim’ issue. We, the Hindu majority, are now looking curiously at people who have been our brethren for several centuries, who share our culture, traditions, food habits and certainly, history.

Rakhi and Elesh will play parents to kids a reality show

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Mumbai, August 11: After bagging a groom on national television, Rakhi will now be part of a reality show that will groom her for parenthood. Ms Sawant will now be part of a new show called Pati, Patni Aur Woh.

An adaptation of a hit international format called Baby Borrowers, the show features five celebrity couples completing childcare tasks.

The jodis will spend a month in a closed environment, surrounded by cameras.

Aur kaun?

Gay sex can lead to swine flu: Malaysian media

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Kaula Lumpur, August 11: Malaysia’s state-run news agency is urging its readers to avoid homosexual sex and masturbation if they want to remain free of swine flu.

An article published Sunday by Bernama, the Malaysian government news agency, singles out homosexual sex as an activity that can cause people to contract swine flu, while also emphasizing that “normal sexual union between members of the opposite sex was absolutely safe.”

Homeopathy can prevent, cure swine flu: Homeopaths

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New Delhi, August 09: Homeopathy can both prevent and cure swine flu, sans any side effects, say doctors who practise this alternative medicine system in India where over 700 people have been diagnosed with the disease.

Amid panic over the spread of influenza A (H1N1) virus, homeopaths are now drafting a proposal for the health ministry to offer their services in tackling the crisis.

“Based on the symptoms, homeopathy can offer an effective cure to swine flu. Moreover, it does not have any side effects,” Harcharanjeet Kaur, a homeopath at Baksons homeopathy clinic, told IANS.

64 Years Later, US Support for Hiroshima Nuking Lingers

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Washington, August 06: 64 years ago on August 6, 1945, the United States dropped a nuclear bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, immediately killing 70,000 Japanese (the vast majority of them civilians) and killing tens of thousands of others in the years that followed, with the final toll estimated at 140,000. It was the first of only two uses of nuclear weapons in human history (the second was three days later in Nagasaki) and the deadliest.

About half of U.S. mortgages seen underwater by 2011

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New York, August 06: The percentage of U.S. homeowners who owe more than their house is worth will nearly double to 48 percent in 2011 from 26 percent at the end of March, portending another blow to the housing market, Deutsche Bank said on Wednesday.

Home price declines will have their biggest impact on prime “conforming” loans that meet underwriting and size guidelines of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the bank said in a report. Prime conforming loans make up two-thirds of mortgages, and are typically less risky because of stringent requirements.

Hezbollah can strike Tel Aviv: Report

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Occupied Jerusalem, August 06: Lebanon’s Hezbollah has stockpiled more than 40,000 rockets and has ground missiles capable of hitting Tel Aviv, The Times of London said.

A senior Israeli army officer of the Northern Command interviewed by the newspaper in Jerusalem described the current situation along the Israel-Lebanon border as a fragile calm.

Hezbollah soldiers paraded in southern Lebanon in 2002 (New York Times)

The calm that has reigned in the area in the past three years since the end of the Second Lebanon War could ‘explode any minute,’ Brig. Gen. Alon Friedman warned.

Israel is helping Malegaon Masterminds

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Malegaon, August 05: Ever since the news report of the court order dismissing Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) charges against the 11 accused detained in connection with the 2008 Malegaon blast is made public, the mood in Malegaon is a kind of shock and dejection. Though people in the town express total respect to the Court order, they just fail to believe how it can happen to those who had reportedly confessed not only to killing the innocent people but also to seeking help from the Zionist government in Israel to overthrow the Indian Government.

Clinton slams Israeli evictions of Palestinian families

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Washington, August 04: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday said Israel’s evictions of Palestinian families from east Jerusalem are “deeply regrettable” and urged the close US ally to refrain from such “provocative” actions.

Clinton, speaking during a press conference alongside her Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh, said such actions breached Israel’s duties under the 2003 internationally-endorsed roadmap for Palestinian-Israeli peace.

‘Reality’ of 9/11 excuses BUSH scandals: CIA Director

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Washington, August 03: CIA director and Democratic appointee Leon Panetta, in an article published Sunday, said Democrats must recognize the “reality” of 9/11 is what drove the conduct of George W. Bush administration in the months following September 11, 2001, which somehow justifies not looking into suspected crimes.

He added, in an apparent warning to the House Intelligence Committee, that “focusing on the past” could hurt the CIA’s core mission amid a climate of recriminations over its practices.

UK spy agencies recruiting terrorists

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London, August 02: The British government on Saturday responded to a senior lawmaker’s call for an investigation into whether its intelligence agency, MI5, inadvertently recruited individuals involved with terrorist activity.

Conservative MP Patrick Mercer, seen here in 2007, says he based his allegations on discussions with sources.

A Home Office spokesman told CNN the department is not aware of MI5 recruiting extremists of any kind.

Court drops MCOCA against Sadhvi, Govt. to appeal in HC

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Mumbai, August 01: In a major setback to the investigating authorities, a Mumbai special court Friday ordered dropping of charges under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against Sadhvi Pragnya Singh, Lt. Col. Prasad Purohit and nine other accused in 2008 Malegaon bomb blast case.

The state government though has decided to move to High Court against the verdict.

Baby crocodile found in hand luggage

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Abu Dhabi, August 01: A foot-long baby crocodile wriggled out of a passenger’s hand luggage and caused panic on a flight departing from the United Arab Emirates, an official at Cairo airport said today.

A crew member on the EgyptAir flight from Abu Dhabi rounded up the wayward reptile and calmed passengers.

The airport security official says the animal was seized and given to the Cairo Zoo. He spoke on condition of anonymity.

Transporting exotic animals in and out of the Egypt is illegal, and none of the passengers on Friday’s flight claimed ownership of the baby crocodile.

Iraqis Fear Attacks Signal Return of ‘al-Qaeda in Iraq’

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Baghdad, August 01: Pointing to similarities they see between the latest string of bombings against Shi’ite targets and a campaign by the “al-Qaeda in Iraq” organization in 2006, top security officials in Iraq are concerned that the bombings signal the start of a new effort by the group to destablize the nation.

New Taliban code: Don’t kill civilians, don’t take ransom

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Islamabad, August 01: US commanders in Afghanistan aren’t the only ones worried that civilian deaths are costing them hearts and minds. The Taliban, which has planted bombs in schools and occasionally burned its opponents alive, has put out a new code of conduct for militants that appears to be an attempt to project a softer image to the Afghan people.